First of all, I feel I should give a little background on myself before I comment.  I'm a 41 year old female with severe neck and lower back disc problems.  I have already had 2 neck surgeries removing discs in my neck.  I currently have 2 herniated discs still in my neck and now 1 bulging disc and 1 herniated disc in my lower back.  I have nerve damage in both of my arms.   This problem has been going on for almost 10 years.  I am in severe, off the chart pain that most people can't even comprehend, in my neck, both my arms & hands, my upper back and my lower back.  I cannot lift more than 5 pounds without severe pain and if I do I end up bed ridden for days.  Even with all of these medications I am on daily, I still find myself in bed more days than I am able to spend out and about minimally functioning.

I do not do any illegal drugs.  I am on 14 different medications, among which include Morphine and Percoset,.  The pain I am in causes my blood pressure to soar daily so I also take 5 different blood pressure medications and an anti-inflammatory daily.

So, should pot be legalized?  If pot was legal in the state that I live in, I would prefer to smoke a small amount of pot versus the 14 medications I take multiple times a day!  I admit I have tried pot in the past, although it has been many years since I have, but I do recall the amazing ability of pain relief that  marijuana does provide.

I would much rather see pot legalized and the proceeds given to our local governments to subsidize programs such as education and low-income programs for the needed, than to drug dealers who use the ill-gotten gains for their own profits.

This is a no-brainer for someone like me, and I am sure there are many others out there who are in similar situations!

Whether you have severe physical issues like I do or not, wouldn't you rather your local economy benefit from a NATURAL drug than the local drug dealers?!